What Lies Beneath
by RachelChaseJackson
Summary: Things seem to get tougher when Percy's ex-love steps into the big picture. To add to that Percy and Annabeth's relationship is going through a rough patch with Luke's newfound feelings towards Annabeth. Percy's hiding something from Annabeth while Rachel seems to have an ulterior motive. Are things really the way they seem? Sequel to What Matters Most.
1. Beginning of the end

**This is a sequel to 'What Matter's Most'. Those who haven't read it, I'll try my best to recap but it would be better if you read the first part. Hope you like the first chapter!**

**I have opened up a poll on my profile asking which story you want me to update the most. I'll update according to your choice as I'm doing now. If you don't want to vote then mention the story in a review!**

* * *

It took the woman a long time to leave her house. Across the street, Reyna was seated in her car as she watched the man's front door. Her long black hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she had her black shades on even though the weather was damp.

_Come on._ She thought. _you're going to be late for work._

The door opened at last as the woman stepped out. She had sparkling grey eyes and waist length blonde hair which was left open. She was speaking in the phone hurriedly as she made her way towards a black mustang.

The moment the woman's car disappeared the corner, Reyna got out of the car. She'd already checked out how to get to the back of the house. She crossed the road strolling through the early morning silence. Reyna fished out the duplicate key she had made and jingled it in the doorknob. She had been watching these folks for quite sometime.

She entered the house and saw a photo frame in the hallway. It was of the woman with her husband, a tall and lithe man with raven black hair and green eyes and another young man who the woman claimed to be her brother had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes with a scar running down his eyes.

She snorted at the whole scenario. It would have looked real if not for the fake background Reyna easily recognized. They had it made just for make-belief. As far as Reyna could guess the man with the blonde hair was simply a friend and the couple weren't married. She had learned how to read people. It came along with her line of work.

She proceeded to the study room where she knew she would find what she wanted. She opened one of the drawers to find some documents. She held up one.

It had the picture of the woman. Under the picture were her details.

**Name: Alicia Parker**

**Age: 23**

**Partner: John Parker**

And a few other random details about her family and education. She picked up another which had the picture of the man with the green eyes. She checked the other document and then flung them across the room in anger. This wasn't what she wanted! These were all their fake stuff required to settle in the neighborhood.

Reyna pushed the table over as everything on it collapsed with a loud thud. She was sure that she would get hold of them this time!

Her phone started ringing. She took it out and checked the caller ID. It read **BOSS.** She sighed and ran a hand through her face. She picked it up and immediately a clipped voice replied. "Is it done yet?"

Reyna let out a long breath. "No, they took it with them. I think they knew I was watching them."

"You _think_?" The voice replied angrily and Reyna winced. "It's been a month since I've given you the assignment and you still can't get a hold of them?! What's wrong with you?"

Reyna winced again. "I''m sorry. But I - you gave me this assignment without much information. Like why am I tracking these people? Who are they? You can at least give me a head start?"

"Get a hold on their location in a week and inform me. I'll send someone else to do the job." Reyna felt disappointment course through her. She was one of the best in the organisation but she couldn't do this simple thing. Well it wasn't her fault that these people knew how to outsmart her every time.

"Oh and if you fail to do so then consider yourself jobless in a week. That's your head start." Her boss said fiercely as she hung up.

She sat down on one of the wooden chairs with her head in her hands. The only sound in the room was of the cackling fire burning in the fireplace and the once white documents turning into ashes.

* * *

**Three hours earlier**

_Percy and Annabeth were sprawled on the couch as they watched the news. The lights in the room were dim like they wanted some privacy. It was only a matter of time before they had to start moving again and find another place to temporary settle in. It had been like this since they had found out that Percy's ex-girlfriend was behind the whole fiasco. She was on the look out for them and Percy was sure she wouldn't hesitate to kill them on spot. Although he didn't quite understand how Rachel would get involved with Kronos._

_Rachel was Percy's first girlfriend and maybe his first love. She left him when she got to know that Percy was in fact a world known thief. That was however old news now since a lot had happened after he met Annabeth and found out she was a cop. He had worked for Kronos since the age of fifteen but finally he had got his revenge with the help of Annabeth, her brother Jason,his dad and his best friend Luke. They had killed Kronos and when they thought that it was finally over **boom** Jason informed them all that they knew was wrong._

_He kissed Annabeth's forehead as he remembered the way he proposed to her. She was an emotional wreck thinking that she should leave him so that he could be free but he was far from being that now. They hadn't gotten time for a wedding. They wanted it to be perfect and without any stress. When all of this was over for real. If it would ever be over that is._

_Just then Luke burst into the door. "I think it's time to leave." Annabeth groaned as they got up and started packing._

_"We were being watched weren't we?" Percy said as he took out all their important documents and leaving out the fake ones. He threw them in the fire place one by one._

_Luke nodded as he rushed to stuff some food supplies in a bag. "She's going to be here in a few hours. I'm sure Rachel's sent her. She's been tracking us for a long time. They're after the memory chip."_

_Annabeth and Percy both shared a look. "She won't get it. Whatever we do, we won't let her get the chip."_

_Luke nodded as he picked up their bags. "Annabeth you have to stay for a while longer. Until she comes" He said not looking at them._

_"What? Why?" Percy questioned._

_"Poseidon's orders. To make it look less suspicious I guess." He said shouldering the bag_

_"Okay." Annabeth nodded. "Sure. Then I'll meet you guys on the outskirts." Annabeth walked them to the door._

_Percy turned to her pulling her close in a hug. "Don't do anything rash okay?"_

_Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You worry too much. Go." She said softly. Percy looked at her and leaned into kiss her. He would never get tired of the feeling he got when she was near him, touching him or kissing fact even though they were in a hell of a situation he loved the fact that they were together._

_Annabeth kissed him one last time and pushed him back lightly. "Now go. I love you."_

_"Love you too." Percy grinned back as he turned towards Luke who had a sad expression on his face. He wondered why. Maybe Luke had gotten too attached to this town to leave. He decided not to think about it and concentrate on the matters in hand._

_As soon as Annabeth saw their car leave she bolted inside. She walked towards the living room to find a man standing in front of the fireplace. "They're gone?" He asked._

_Annabeth nodded and then realized that he couldn't see her with his back turned towards her. "Yeah."_

_The man turned revealing his clipped black hair and sea green eyes. "Good. Now let's get to work."_

_"You found something?" Annabeth questioned walking towards him as he held her a pendrive. She took it from his hand and inserted it in her laptop._

_"I don't understand Poseidon. Why are you keeping this from them?" Annabeth said as the files got loaded._

_"It's necessary. This information about Rachel...I don't trust them to know about it. Yet." Poseidon said looking uneasy._

_"You don't trust your own son?" Annabeth asked raising an eyebrow. Poseidon shook his head in reply._

_"It's not about that. I just don't trust him with information about Rachel." Poseidon said walking towards the laptop. Annabeth nodded in understanding._

_"But we'll tell him soon." Annabeth insisted. "I don't want to keep things from him. I'm not making that same mistake again."_

_"Oh trust me dear, you're not the only one keeping things from others." Poseidon replied with an uneasy look._

The scissors were cold against Percy's neck.

Percy sat in the bathroom of their motel room with his eyes shut. Annabeth was bugging him about cutting his hair which had gotten too long and so he finally gave in. He wished he hadn't. With every snip he felt like a part of himself was being thrown away.

Annabeth huffed behind him. "Stop squirming so much! And relax I'm just trimming your hair not shaving it all off."

Percy opened one eye. "You're not?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No Seaweed Brain. Now stay still. I'm almost done." She held his neck lightly to keep his head in place and Percy visibly calmed down.

"How's the haircut going?" Luke said standing on the edge of the bathroom with his arms crossed and grinning.

"Hey at least my eyebrows are intact." Percy said shrugging as Annabeth lightly hit him on the arm. "Percy!"

Luke and Percy laughed while Annabeth took off the cloth covering Percy and put away the scissors. Percy got up and checked his hair and surprisingly he felt it was looking good. Earlier where his hair almost covered his ears were now just a little above them. His fair wasn't falling on his eyes anymore, just on his forehead.

"Wow. That's actually nice." Percy said touching the sides of his head.

"You think?" Annabeth said sarcastically as she washed her hands and wiped them on a towel. "That's is actually pretty good." Luke said amused. "Can I have a go?"

Annabeth laughed. "If I cut any more of that hair you're going to be bald." Percy laughed out loudly as he patted a fake frowning Luke on the back.

"Right. So we have two rooms and I'm getting sleepy. What are the arrangements?" Luke asked walking out of the bathroom with them.

"Me and Annabeth in this one and you get a room all to yourself." Percy said smiling cheekily as he plopped down on the bed.

"Should I be happy about that?" Luke asked raising an eyebrow. Percy's face suddenly turned serious. "Would you suggest you staying here with Annabeth and me getting another room?" Annabeth looked uneasily between the two.

Luke's heart thumped in his chest. "No! Of course not!" He protested quickly and in an instant Percy burst out laughing."Relax! I'm messing with you man."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Boys."

"Okay. So I'll get going then." Luke said nervously but it went unnoticed by the couple. As he was about to leave he yelled out. "Don't do anything that's reserved for the honeymoon!"

He left with a satisfied grin and an image of two blushing tomatoes in the room. What they didn't notice was his smile die down as soon as he shut the door.

* * *

"New Mexico?" Annabeth asked as she nuzzled her head into Percy's neck. They were both snuggled under the comforter with Percy's hand splayed across her waist.

"Yeah. Dad said he found a few people who could help us." Percy said stroking her blond hair. He felt Annabeth shiver against him. He pulled her closer so that she could use his body heat.

"Promise me it's warmer in Mexico." Annabeth mumbled. She was starting to feel like an ice cube. Percy chuckled against her hair. "I sure hope so."

"You know those people? The one's your Dad found?" Annabeth asked looking up at him.

"Dad said I did, but he didn't mention any names." Annabeth snorted at that. "That sounds just like him."

"True." Percy laughed and then nudged her. "Hey. How're you holding up?"

Annabeth sighed. "Okay I guess. I mean the nomadic life is kind of a new experience for me." Honestly, what she wanted was for her and Percy to be safe and sound in their home in Manhattan. She didn't want to be constantly running for her life all the time wondering that her next word to Percy would be her last. She didn't want any of this but this was the life she had chosen.

"I'm sorry I pulled you into this." Percy muttered running his hand up and down along her spine. Annabeth pulled away to look at his face. "You didn't. I pulled myself into this. I chose this when I said 'yes' to you and you know what? I don't regret any of it."

"No regrets?" "None."

Percy pulled her back. "Well that's good then. I promise we'll have a wedding. A big one at that."

"I don't care about big. As long as I get to say 'I do'." She could see Percy grin through the darkness as he grabbed her hand.

"And what would it be like?" He said tracing the lines on her palm and fingering the ring on her ring finger.

"I don't know." She said rolling closer to him. "Maybe on the beach...definitely on the beach." She said smiling. "Luke would be your best man and Thalia mine. We'd only call family and close friends...I'd probably wear converse under my wedding dress cause there's no way I'm wearing heels."

"Why did I know you were going to say that?" Percy said rolling his eyes.

"I don't know, maybe because..."Her voice trailed off. Percy had taken her hand and was kissing her fingers, one by one. His lips seemed electric, zinging at her nerve endings as if she were an exposed wire. His warm mouth slid down to her palm, pressing against it.

"Let's stop talking for a while, okay?" He whispered.

* * *

A loud clap of thunder woke Percy up. His heart thumped against his chest as he looked around and took in his surroundings. Annabeth was sleeping against his shoulder softly snoring.

He looked at the window to see it raining heavily but that wasn't what shocked him. The fact that each time there was lightning he could see a shadow standing outside the window which lead to a balcony.

He quietly untangled Annabeth's arms around him and grabbed a gun as he got out of bed. He tiptoed towards the window and quickly threw it open.

His eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost as he was met with light green eyes.

"Hello, Percy."

* * *

**Read, review and follow/favorite! Stay tuned!- RachelChaseJackson**


	2. It's just a game

**Hey guys! Thank you all for reviewing!Sorry for the looong wait and the late update, but I can't say that it will be a lot quicker cause I'm busy as hell with high school. It's tiring really and there's just soo much homework and it's just been a week! Anyways hope you like this chapter!**

**P.S potterblackupin-4ever : Your review really made me laugh out loud and say 'hell yeah!' That really gave me a push to write this chapter because I was solely concentrating on my other story 'Now you see me'. Thanks!**

* * *

Percy's heart slammed against his chest as he squinted in the dark. No, it couldn't be. "Rachel?" He asked in a whisper. He didn't know why he was whispering though. Rachel's appearance had shocked him. He hadn't expected her to find them so soon.

A slow smile crept upon Rachel's face. "Good to know you haven't forgotten me Percy."

Percy finally found his voice and frowned. "How long have you been standing here?" Had she been there the whole time standing in the rain watching them? He didn't know whether to feel creepy or disgusted.

"Long enough to know you've replaced me." She said sighing as she sat down on the railing. The rain had ceased down to only a pleasant drizzling. "How are you?"

"Are you seriously kidding me?" Percy said furiously trying to keep his voice down. "You appear on my hotel balcony spying on me and my girlfriend just to ask _how I am?_"

Rachel simply waved her fingers in front of her face and blew over her nails. "Okay, then let me get to the point." She looked at him sharply. "I want the memory chip."

Percy snorted. "Yeah. As if that's gonna happen."

Rachel smirked as if she was expecting that reply. "I don't think you understand Perseus." He winced at that. "I'm not the same old girl you knew a few years ago. Things have changed."

"They definitely have."Percy said with his jaw clenched. She walked closer to him standing right in front of him.

"I think you know how good a manipulator I am." She dragged her finger across his cheek. "I have my ways to make you do what I want."

Percy stepped away from her. "Yeah well they won't work on me anymore." Rachel laughed loudly but it sounded more like cackling to Percy.

"I know your little secret lover boy. In fact I know a lot of stuff." She said smugly. "Like how you're hiding something from your girlfriend or shall I say fiance?"

Percy's eyes widened as he clenched his fists."What do you know?" He gritted out.

"What will poor Annabeth think when she get's to know that you and your father have helped to kill her mother?" She said mocking innocence. "Oh no Percy will there even be a wedding then?" She said dramatically.

"You wouldn't." He said shaking his head.

"Of course I would. In fact I can even go to extremes. Wouldn't you love the imminent death of your loved ones?" That's it. Percy thought as his hand quickly flew to his back and he pulled out the gun but to his surprise one was already pointed at him.

"Not so easy." She said sneering at him and then all of a sudden smiled as she lowered her gun. She reached her arm and put a hand on Percy's gun looking at him. "You know you won't shoot me."

Percy's hand wavered and so did his thoughts. She was right. He couldn't. No matter how much he wished to throw Rachel off the balcony he couldn't shoot her.

"If he won't then I will." The click of another gun was heard as Percy whipped his head to see Annabeth standing behind him in her pajamas with a gun pointed at Rachel.

"Oh look it's the damsel in distress." Rachel said sarcastically.

"Are those clothes good enough to be buried in or would you want to change?" Annabeth said as she positioned her gun.

"Don't worry hon." Rachel said snidely. "It's nothing he hasn't seen." She said glancing towards Percy in a suggestive way.

"Goodbye, Rachel" Annabeth gritted out and a second before she pulled the trigger it was shoved away from her hands. "Annabeth wait!"

She fell to the ground with a thud with Percy on top of her. "What the hell Percy?!" Annabeth yelled as they both scrambled up. Rachel simply stood there with her arms crossed as if she was enjoying the show.

"Don't." He said gasping for air. "She wouldn't have come here without a motive."

"I see that your still have your secret smarts." Rachel said grinning. "And you're right. I wouldn't be so foolish to come here unarmed. That would be you Annabeth."

Annabeth sneered at her as Percy held her back. She walked around calmly as if she was strolling in a garden. "As for now, there's a bomb situated under your buddy's bed." She smirked at their widened eyes. "And it's about to blow up in..." She looked at her wrist but there was no watch on. Annabeth rolled her eyes as she looked at them again. "Oh would you look at that? We've only got fifteen minutes or shall I say you've only got fifteen minutes."

Annabeth snorted. "You wouldn't do that. I doubt it that your such a saint to give up your own life just to kill us."

Rachel widened her eyes and shook her head mocking Annabeth. "Who said anything about staying honey? It's all on you. It's sad really, that the players in the game got eliminated even before it began. Adios amigos!" Were her last word before she turned towards the balcony railing and hopped off of it.

Annabeth and Percy surged forwards to see her detach the cord from her waist and jump into a jeep. "Cool ride." Percy said wistfully.

"Percy! Come on!" Annabeth yelled pulling onto his arm. "We're about to die in.." She checked her watch. "thirteen minutes. Don't you want to do something about that?"

"Annabeth." Percy grunted as he caught the gun Annabeth threw at him. "We're always about to die. Tell me something new."

"Yeah?" Annabeth said as they got out of the room and dashed into Luke's room. "Well if we don't get out of this we're not getting married."

"That won't happen if we die anyway!" Percy said throwing his arms up in the air as Annabeth screamed. "LUKE!"

Luke shot out of his bed with his bed hair and his eyes looking around as he mumbled. "Are we in Fiji yet?"

"Dunno about Fiji buddy but we sure are going to hell."Percy said helping him up and handing him a gun.

"What's going on?" Luke said now fully aware. The three of them would have looked pretty intimidating if not for their pajamas. Percy thought about their situation. An infamous thief, a criminal and a cop working together. If someone would have told this to Percy a few years ago he would have probably laughed it off but now he smiled at how things were. He liked how things were. Even if they were close to death. When Percy started getting thoughts like that he knew he was spending too much time thinking. That was creepy.

"Don't freak out." Annabeth said raising her hands in a calming gesture. Luke nodded uneasily as Annabeth let out a deep breath. "There's a bomb in this room."

"WHAT THE- I'm not freaking out! I am absolutely not freaking out." He said running around the room. Annabeth rolled her eyes and dashed for the bed. She crouched down and looked under it.

"What is it?" Percy asked worriedly when she came up panting and wide eyed. "I'm not sure if I can stop it."

Percy heart sped up. "Well try. We can't leave the people to die. That's not us." Luke nodded along with him with a hardened face. Annabeth huffed and blew a strand out of her face. "Yeah you're right." And with that said she ducked under the bed working on it.

"Luke!" She called out. "A little help would be appreciated!" Luke immediately cursed himself as he started helping her. Percy immediately pulled out his phone and tried dialing Jason.

Jason Grace. Annabeth's brother- or well she looked up to him as one- who was a cop along with Annabeth. Initially Percy and Jason didn't get along. Isn't that obvious? Can a cop and a convict ever get along? Well it contradicted a cop and a convict dating any day but anyways, Jason had gotten to know about his past and why he did what he did. Now everything was cool between them and Jason was helping them with the Rachel situation. He had stayed back in Manhattan and couldn't accompany them because of his duties but he helped them in every way he could.

"UGH!" Annabeth groaned. "What does this freaking yellow wire do?!"

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you supposed to know?" He pulled the phone away from his ear. Jason wasn't picking up. Maybe he was busy but they didn't have time for him to be busy!

Annabeth gave him a look. "I'm not a pro, Seaweed Brain. Would you like to give it a try?" Percy held out a surrender gesture. "Explosives aren't really my thing."

"I just have one-" Luke grunted from under the bed. "question to ask you guys. How can you both still manage to be annoying in a situation like this?!"

"30 seconds left!" Annabeth yelled and Percy ran towards them, his palms sweaty. If they were gonna die there was no better way than having his best friend and girlfriend by his side. It was almost normal for them to be bickering and yelling at each other and it almost brought a smile to Percy's face as he thought he wouldn't want to die the normal way in fear. If he were to die, he would die smiling.

Luke and Annabeth pulled out from under the bed with defeated looks and worried expression. They had done all they could but it wasn't enough. It was never enough for them.

"This is it." Annabeth croaked and Luke shook his head. "It isn't fair."

"If it were then I wouldn't be here." Percy said smiling as he took Annabeth's and Luke's hands. He looked at them and nodded. "Together." They nodded along with him as Annabeth squeezed his hand. I love you. He squeezed back.

"5...4..." Percy immediately shut his eyes and pictured something else. Something that wasn't frightening. Something that wasn't deathly. He thought about the time when his mom took him to the beach. About the time he and Grover played a prank on their maths teacher. About the time he and Luke used to fight about his mom's cookies. About the time when he met Annabeth.

"3..." He even thought about the time he was happy with Rachel. He didn't blame her. Not really. Everyone had their reasons for what they did. He did and look how well it turned out for him. "2..." Percy squeezed his eyes so tight that black spots started appearing in his vision.

"...1"

But instead of a loud blast a sound like an alarm clock started ringing. Percy opened one eye to check what was going on and he found Annabeth and Luke with confused expressions.

"Uh...did we die?" Luke asked as they let go of each other. Percy snorted. "I'm really not sure."

Annabeth slowly walked towards where the bomb was kept and gasped. "What?" Percy asked worriedly surging forward.

Annabeth looked up with anger in her hands. "It's a fake. It's a freaking fake! How could we not have known?!"

"Wait." Luke said frowning. "But why would Rachel plant a fake bomb. I thought she wanted to kill us."

Just then the TV behind them started making a screeching noise before the news channel appeared before him. A lady with a neat bun and work clothes sat on the desk and spoke in a completely professional voice. "...have been unknown. We have found out that the victims were Head Inspector Jason Grace and his sister Thalia Grace. The cause of this explosion is still a mystery to everyone. After putting out the flames the police claim that they were killed on impact. Further investigation is yet to be done."

Percy phone buzzed as he received a message from an unknown number. **_Not your time. Yet. - R_**

Percy looked at Annabeth who was breathing heavily with tears tracks running down her face. "No..."

* * *

See, as much as you want to hold on to the bitter sore memory that someone has left this world, you are still in it. And the very act of living is a tide: at first it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you look down and see how much pain has eroded.

Percy remember the saying from My Sister's Keeper. He didn't know why he did but it suddenly perked up in his mind. He sat on the side of the swimming pool of the hotel mulling over his thoughts. He couldn't believe all that was happening. Just in a matter of days two of them were already dead. No sooner they all would be the same. Percy couldn't let everyone suffer for his mistakes. He simply couldn't. The guilt overwhelmed him.

He knew Annabeth was heart broken but tried her best not to show it. He wanted to be there with her right now, in their room comforting her. He should be there but she wouldn't let him. She would always act strong. Always. And sometimes he wished she wouldn't because weren't you supposed to open up to the person you love? He knew if he entered the room right now she would be on their bed with her knees tucked under her chin and silent tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I'm really sorry Perce." Luke said emerging out of the water as Percy handed him a towel. "I didn't really know them but I'm really sorry." And he really was. Percy could see the honesty in his eyes and he knew Luke had felt the same way. He had lost a loved one too. They all had.

"It was a ploy." Percy said shaking his head. "What?" Luke questioned with his brows furrowed.

"The bomb was a distraction." He clenched his fists. "Rachel knew we would be too busy worrying about deactivating bomb in our room. She knew if not for that I would have informed Jason about her and so she distracted us, so that she could get to them."

"She's smart, I'll give her that."Luke said.

"It's all just a game to her." Percy said gritting his teeth. "We're simply the players and she's the strongest of all of us and one by one she's gonna eliminate all of us, just like she did to Jason and Thalia."

"We can't let that happen can we?" Another voice said behind them and Percy was shocked to see Annabeth standing there. Her hair was framing her face and eyes rimmed red but she still managed to look like a goddess.

"Annabeth why are you-?" Percy started saying. He didn't expect her to recover so soon.

"We have to let go sometime right?" She said softly. "I can mourn all I want but they aren't coming back." She proceeded to sit down beside him and dipped her foot in the water and hissed. "It's so cold!"

Percy chuckled."Give it some time, it'll be okay." Luke said drying his hair.

Annabeth huffed and dipped her legs again. "So what's the plan?" Percy looked at Luke and shrugged. "New Mexico. "

"New Mexico." Annabeth repeated nodding. "And I'm figuring Rachel is gonna be there." She sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "What does she want anyway? Why couldn't she simply kill us and get over with it?"

"Because she's got something bigger than that going."Percy answered for her. "It's all a part of her 'master plan'" he quoted. "Or whatever it is."

"She's like a freaking mastermind!" Luke stated shaking his head."We've gotta keep up."

Annabeth nodded contemplating the thought. "And like they say, we've gotta fight fire with fire and I've got the just the person for that."

"So New Mexico then?" Percy said and she nodded. There was a moment of silence when Luke spoke up.

"How's the water now?" Luke asked and Annaabeth smiled softly. "It's perfect."

"Like I said, give it some time, it'll be okay." And Annabeth had the feeling he wasn't just talking about the water.

* * *

"So who is this guy we're meeting in New Mexico?How do you know him?" Percy said as he changed the gear. They had decided not to waste any time and so now they were on the road with Annabeth riding shotgun. Usually Luke and her would fight about it and they wouldn't leave until half an hour but this time Luke didn't complain. Luke wasn't a fool. He understood human emotions like anyone did and he knew Annabeth was hurt. She just needed space. And so he was stuck at the back with his shoulders slouched as he stared out the window.

"I've worked with him in the field a few times." She said tucking her legs underneath her. "He's one of the best. A total lady bad in the looks department." She said smiling and shaking her head. "But hasn't ever dated one."

"Wow. That's a record." Percy muttered. "Is he gay?" Luke asked instead and Annabeth laughed out.

"Not at all. Well at least I know he's not." She sighed. "You'll know when you meet him. He's just the kind of guy you can read like an open book. I have a feeling you guys are gonna like him."

"As long as he's not interested in you I'll like him." Percy said shrugging and chuckled when Annabeth swatted his arm. Luke rolled his eyes but smiled at them. He of course wouldn't admit out loud that he agreed with Percy.

"What's his name?" Luke asked.

Annabeth turned in her seat and looked back. "Skylar. Skylar Adams."

It was 5 AM when they had reached the outskirts of Mexico with all the stops for coffee in the middle. It was 6:30 AM when they reached 'Skylar Adams' residence. Percy didn't know what to expect of this guy but hey, if Annabeth knew him and knew there was nothing wrong with him then Percy trusted her. His house wasn't big but wasn't small either. As they knocked on the finely polished wooden door Percy looked around the place. The guy had a small garden with different varieties of flowers he didn't even know the name of. All in all Percy figured this guy was a neat freak.

The door was opened by an old and thin man and just as he was about to open it wider a bulldog pushed hims aside and pounced on Percy. "Woah!" Percy yelled and fell back with the dog with a loud thump.

"Oh my gods are you okay Percy?" Annabeth said as she helped him up but the dog kept licking his face.

"I'm extremely sorry sir." The old man said holding the dog by it's collar. "Cheeseball usually gets excited when we have visitors."

"You named the dog _Cheeseball_?" Luke questioned incredulously while the man simply smiled. "No, sir. Sky did."

"Cheeseball the bulldog." Percy muttered to himself. It sounded even more ridiculous than in his head. Luke snorted and nudged him.

"Right." Annabeth said straightening up. "Uh could we please meet Officer Adams? It's kind of important."

The man looked at them warily as if decided whether he should let them in. Apparently he had labelled them as the 'good ones' as he led them through the house. It was pretty ancient looking. Like the ones your grandma once had, but it also had a royal touch to it. He wondered if Skylar Adams' ancestry was royal.

"This is his office." The man said standing in front of a room which pretty much well, looked like an office. "He usually spends more time here than he does in his room."

Percy nodded as the man gestured for them to go ahead. As he entered the room the smell of books wafted in the air. Like the one where you find in a library. Percy wasn't fond of books or libraries so of course he didn't find it pleasant but he could understand why Annabeth liked this guy.

"...is very simply Harry." They heard a smooth voice say. "The woman was obviously not murdered by setting herself to fire. It was a suicide attempt." They walked further into the room to find a young man of maybe 22-23 seated leisurely with his legs crossed on the table in front of him. He had messy black hair with streaks of dark blue in the front. His shirt was loose on him so Percy could see a thunderbolt tattoo on his collar bone. As he spoke into the phone he was also working on a Rubik cube in his hands. And not just any Rubik cube, it wa one.

"How do I know that?" He said with a look of disbelief still not realizing their presence. "Well for starters the woman's wrists had scars on them meaning she used to cut herself. The fact that the arch and heel of her feet weren't burnt state that it was a suicide. There's your case right there." He said with a triumphant smile as he hung up and tossed another file to the pile of files on his desk.

"Sky?" Annabeth asked hesitantly and when the man looked up Percy got to see his eyes. They were a light grey, not like Annabeth's though which were darker. Annabeth's eyes were intimidating while Sky's looked playful. He smiled widely at them showing his perfect teeth.

"I had a feeling you were coming."

* * *

**There's my new OC! Skylar Adams. He's a crucial part of the story so don't you push him aside. ;) Well anyways, please review because your reviews are what will inspire me to write more so please please review! Constructive criticism is appreciated. If you have any requests or suggestions please PM me or mention it in a review. I'm also available for simply PM-ing so feel free! **

**S****tay tuned! Until next time! -RachelChaseJackson**


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